NY Deaths To Rise As Patients Spend Longer On Ventilators: Cuomo

NEW YORK CITY — New coronavirus deaths in New York State are increasing quickly as older patients who've spent weeks on ventilators succumb to lung damage, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

"This is the bad news, the number of deaths is increasing," Cuomo said. "That's the worst news you can get."

New York State has lost 385 people — 281 of whom died in New York City — since the outbreak first began to be charted in early March, city and state data show.

People who have been on ventilators between 20 and 30 days are more likely to die because of the toll ventilation takes on the lungs, Cuomo explained.

A medical worker treating COVID-19 patients described the problem in an interview with Propublica.

"When you’re healthy, your lung is made up of little balloons," the doctor explained.

"[Ventilators] can overinflate those little balloons ... Although some damage can heal, it can also do long-lasting damage to the lungs."

Older patients with underlying health issues are more vulnerable to lung damage, Cuomo explained.

"That is what's happening," Cuomo said. "Those are the people we're losing."